New Superman: The Beginning
by Oneiromancer
Summary: This is a new take on Superman without any confusing backstory or anything like that. This story tells about his first trip to Metropolis and why he became Superman. Oh yeah, I don't own Superman or any of the people associated with him. Newly updated
1. Prologue

Superman

Prologue

Jonathan Kent sighed and pulled out his gold pocket watch. It was 8:10 pm. Church should have let out thirty minutes ago. Up at the front of the fellowship hall, Pastor Linquist was droning along about faith and unconditional love.

It wasn't that Jonathan didn't like Pastor Linquist. Quite the opposite, in fact. The two men got along just fine, and the reverend had eaten lunch with the Kents on more than one occasion. But it was getting late, and tomorrow was a Monday and that meant the start of a new week. Milking the cows, checking on the crops, and come to think of it, Jonathan had to go down to Russ' General Store to order more fertilizer. But Jonathan wasn't in the mood to hear about the Lord's Good News. Not after the _bad _news he and Martha had received just the other day.

Martha…

Jonathan glanced to his right at his wife of six years. She was dressed in her Sunday best: A floral-print dress, a white cotton shawl and her "dress-up shoes". She seemed to be listening intently to the sermon, devouring ever word Linquist was saying. More than once, the pastor's words seemed to move her, and she reached into her handbag and drew out a tissue and dried her eyes with it.

Poor thing.

"And now," Pastor Linquist said, stretching his arms out to the congregation of the Smallville Baptist Church, "I would like to close with a silent prayer offering. If any of you have a concern or need guidance from the Lord, please make your way to the front of the church here."

Soft hymn music began to play via the organ and a sprinkling of people got up from the pews and headed toward the front of the room. Jonathan closed his Bible. It was almost over. Just a few more seconds, and-

Martha quietly rose from her seat and made her way up the aisle and to the front of the church where she joined the others and kneeled down before a huge wooden cross, mounted above the preacher's podium. Jonathan watched her for several seconds. She seemed to actually believe that praying would make a difference. That prayer could . . .. Jonathan reached into his pant's pocket a dabbed a tear away from his eye.

The ride back home was one of silence. The moon was high overhead, casting a strong light over the otherwise dark, flat plains of Kansas. And the old red Fork pickup truck rumbled along, it's two occupants sitting in awkward quiet.

Jonathan let go of the wheel with one hand and rubbed his sandy-colored mustache. That was what he did when he was deep in thought. At least that was what Martha always said. "I, uh, know what you went up there for." He said at last, shattering the oppressive stillness.

Martha didn't say anything.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt. I mean . . ." Okay, here it was. He was going to say it. No telling how she would react. " . . . The doctors didn't seem to have much hope."

"Doctors don't know everything," Martha said, still looking straight ahead through the windshield.

"It's just that after miscarriage last summer-" His voice trailed off, and for one horrifying moment Jonathan thought that he might start to cry. And that wouldn't do. He had to be strong.

"Ask and you shall receive," Martha said matter-of-factly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The Lord says that if you have faith in Him, anything and everything is possible."

That may be. That very well may be, but after six long years of trying to have kids, it was getting a little late. They had been praying non-stop all those years and not once had anything happened that had led Jonathan to believe that God cared. He remembered the joy; the utter joy, he and Martha experienced last summer when Martha announced that she was "expecting". They were already picking out boy and girl names when late one night, he found Martha locked in the bathroom crying. He didn't have to ask what was wrong.

Now this. Martha was really grasping at straws now. Prayer? Please. That was just-

"JONATHAN, LOOK OUT!!"

Jonathan snapped back to reality just as Martha grabbed the steering wheel out from his hands and gave it a sharp turn. The truck made a crazy right turn as a blazing white light illuminated the windows. A deafening _vooooom sound_ filled the pickup and the next thing he knew, the trunk ran right into a ditch.

"What in the-"

Next to him, Martha's mouth was wide open in an O of surprise. Her eyes were as big as saucers. "Look!" She exclaimed.

Jonathan looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a white light streaking through the sky. Crazy shadows played over the countryside, as the source of the light seemed to crash in a nearby wooded area.

"What was that?" Martha asked.

Jonathan turned the ignition off and opened his door. "Probably a meteorite. I'm gonna check it out. Why don't you just sit here until I get back?" The night air was cool and a light wind blew as he power-walked toward the small forest.

"Wait for me!"

And there was Martha, sprinting toward her husband with a worrisome look on her face.

"Martha, you should have stayed in the truck."

She didn't say anything.

Oh, well. Whatever. The two of them entered the forest quietly. What exactly were they looking for? A meteorite, yes, but what was the big deal about a meteorite? Jonathan didn't know, but he felt he was being led beeper and deeper into the woods for a reason beyond his understanding. And speaking of the woods, the top of the trees were torn off and scattered along the leaf-covered ground. That was most likely caused when the meteorite had crashed into the woods here.

_Must have been one big meteorite_, Jonathan thought.

"What's this?" Martha asked from behind him.

He turned and saw Martha holding a strange rock about the size of a billiard-ball. No, it wasn't just any rock. It was green and cast an eerie glow over her face. "Could it be part of the meteor?"

"Might be. Come on, I think it crashed a little on up ahead."

Martha dropped the strange green rock onto the ground and followed her husband further into the woods.

It was getting late, well, late for Smallville anyway, and Jonathan was about to suggest that they should just forget about it and go home when he saw something up ahead. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

The whole thing was about 5 and a half feet tall and was standing straight up out of the ground. Two golden wing-like metallic _things _seemed to be folded over something large. It reminded Jonathan of a mother bird covering her eggs with her own wings. Yes, that was about as close as you could get to describing it. Below the "wings" was a shiny black tube-like structure about four feet in height. Oddly enough, the tube didn't seemed connected to the other part of the structure, yet it seemed to stay together anyhow. And above the wings, topping the whole thing off, were six golden rays about two feet each in length, hovering above the rest of the device.

Neither Jonathan nor Martha said a word. This was no meteor. This was something else entirely. Jonathan's first thought when he saw the odd contraption was that is was a spaceship. But it didn't look like the ones that appeared in movies or in comic books.

A twig snapped behind him, and he saw Martha walking toward the mechanism. "Martha, get back," He hissed. "We don't know what that thing is! We-"

But the rest of his sentence was cut short as the two golden wings unfolded to reveal a huge crystalline orb floating in the air, not attached to anything.

_This is it,_ Jonathan thought, _it is a space ship and now it's going to kill us with some death-ray!_

Seconds passed, and no death ray came shooting out from anywhere. But the orb began to open. Tiny cracks appeared on the otherwise smooth surface and soon the front side of sphere broke open just like an egg to reveal-

"A baby!" Martha gasped. She had hold of Jonathan in a tight death-grip. "A b-b-baby…"

Yes, it was a baby. And a human baby, too. The poor thing looked to be only a few months old and had a mass of jet-black hair sticking out wildly in different directions. He also had the most beautiful eyes, two light cerulean blue eyes.

"The poor thing!" Martha exclaimed as she reached into the ship (yes, Jonathan had started thinking of it as a ship now) and pulled out a baby wrapped in a tinfoil-like blanket of blue, yellow, and red. "The poor dear! You must have been scared! Were you scared, little baby?" Martha asked, putting her face close to the baby's own. "Well, you don't have to be afraid any more."

"Martha, are you crazy?!?!" Jonathan yelled. "That's a _s-s-spaceship _and that baby CAME from that spaceship and I … this …. this is too much!" Jonathan let out a deep breath of air and rested his left hand on a nearby tree while the other hand went looking for his hankie. His chest felt all weird and tight. He felt lightheaded. Woozy.

Martha was paying him no attention. She was completely focused on the baby. "All this time," she whispered. "All this time and now my prayers have finally been answered." A single tear slid down her check.

"We can't keep him!" Jonathan exclaimed, having regained his exposure somewhat.

"And why not?" Martha asked incredulously.

"What about that baby's parents? What about that?" As soon as the words came out, he knew that this baby had no parents. At least no earthly parents.

Martha was apparently ignoring him once more. She had opened the blanket a little and took a peek at the baby. "It's a boy!" She exclaimed gleefully.

"MARTHA!"

"What?"

" What do you mean 'what'? We just can't spirit him away!"

"I know that," Martha said, a sly smile forming over her lips. She was already walking back toward the direction of the truck. "We'll give him to the orphanage and then we'll adopt him!"

"But, but!" But Jonathan knew it was no use. His wife had already made up her mind. And besides, what was wrong with giving the boy to the orphanage? It wasn't like he had any parents around here anyway. But still, the kid came from a crashed spaceship! He was an alien! He was an honest to goodness –

He was an answer to a prayer.

Jonathan looked up into the night sky. The stars were shining brightly and the fat full moon was a huge yellow piece of amber floating through the sky. And then the strangest feeling came over Jonathan Kent, the simple Kansas farmer.

The feeling that everything was going to be all right and better than before.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The plane ride was uneventful, but the view was spectacular. Metropolis was indeed huge. The cityscape filled up the plane's window. Buildings of gleaming glass standing alongside decades-old brick landmarks reached skyward. Metropolis was the new center of the universe - a Mecca for those seeking self-fulfillment.

The plane touched down at the Luthor International Air Station and the passengers made their way to the baggage claim area before heading out into the city.

Clark Kent smiled nervously as he grabbed his bags from the spinning conveyor belt. This was his first time outside Kansas. Well, by himself, anyway. He wondered how he would adjust to City Life. Could he handle it? Would he be able to make friends? All the questions weighed heavily on Clark's mind as he made his way through the airport.

One thing was for sure. If the crowded airport was an omen of things to come, he was in for a big culture shock. Smallville had one high school, a small ancient post-office and _maybe _three stoplights. When news spread that a McDonald's was planned for construction next to the local Food Lion, the residents of the sleepy farm town thought they had made it into the big leagues. But Metropolis was completely different. The estimated population for last year was about 8.5 million people, beating out New York for the title of largest city in America. Yes, it was going to be differ-

BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP!

Clark jumped at the sound of his cell phone ringing. He moved over to a corner of the busy airport and started to rummage through the bags. Where did he put that stupid phone? Was it in the brown suitcase? No. The blue one? Clark unzipped the suitcase and clothes popped out like a jack-in-the-box, spewing themselves all over the floor. A woman walking by got her heel caught on a shirt. She shot Clark an annoyed look and shook off the shirt and then flipped him the bird.

_I'm gonna love this town_, Clark thought as finally located his cell phone and put it to his ear.

"Clark, why haven't you called me yet?" Martha Kent asked. "I was worried!"

Clark stuffed all of the clothes back into the suitcase and zipped it back up. "I just got off the plane, Ma!"

"How was the plane ride? What's Metropolis like? Did you get your bags yet?"

"The plane was fine, I haven't actually been out into the city yet, and yes, I have my bags with me safe and sound."

"Could've saved a lot of money if you would've flown yourself, if you know what I mean," Jonathan Kent's voice suggested from the other side of the cell.

"Jonathan!" Martha exclaimed. "You are such a cheapskate! I don't want Clark flying half way across the country! You know how cold it gets near those high altitudes."

Clark smiled. His mom didn't seem to grasp the fact that he had … special powers and that he was more than able to take care of himself. But that was her job: worrying about her child. Actually, those so-called "special powers' was one of the reasons he wanted to move to Metropolis. He wanted to help people. And he had the perfect idea for a job that would let him do that: A police officer. It was Clark's dream. Helping catch bad guys, solving seemingly unsolvable mysteries and helping kittens out of trees … or was that firemen? It didn't matter. Clark Kent was in Metropolis to make a difference. And those powers of hiswould help him stay one step ahead of the bad guys.

"So how's the weather up in Massachusetts?" Jonathan asked.

"It's fine now," Clark said absently as he made his way out of the airport and stepped out into his new world.

Metropolis was huge. Everywhere you looked there were skyscrapers. And rising above all of them were the world-famous Lex Towers. Clark had seen them on TV, but nothing could have prepared him for seeing them first hand. They were positioned at the south end of the city, two L-shaped glass behemoths dwarfing all the other buildings. The Lex Towers were the world's tallest buildings. Each tower measured in at an incredible 238 stories. The left tower was the LexCorp organization headquarters and the right tower was the personal home of the world's richest man, Lex Luthor.

"Well," Martha said, "We're glad you got there safe and sound. Love you."

Clark and his parents exchanged parting words, and left him all alone in the big city. He set his luggage on the curb in front of the airport's main entrance and watched people rush by him all in a hurry. The one thing he was worried about was if he would be able to make friends. Back in Smallville, he had his close group of friends. Back in Smallville, he was star of the high school football, track, wrestling and swimming teams. Everyone, especially the parents of his fellow teammates, knew his name. He should have been popular with the other kids as well, but he wasn't. Most of his teammates had been into staying out late, underage drinking, throwing wild parties and experimenting with drugs. Those things didn't interest Clark at all. His parents had raised him better than that. And he wasn't terribly popular with the popular girls either. The cheerleaders and the like were initially attracted to him because of his looks. He stood six foot four when 18 and weighed around 240 pounds, all of it pure muscle. (That was a little strange. Clark had been, and still was, extremely "buff" as some would say, but he never worked out. In fact, his diet consisted wholly on fast food and nacho chips.) But pretty soon those girls realized that Clark's idea of a good time was staying home and playing a spirited game of checkers with his parents.

Clark hailed a taxi and told the driver to head for the nearest hotel. Once there, he checked in and unpacked his bags. The hotel was nice, but getting an apartment in the city was going to be a top priority, right after getting that job as a cop. So, after spending a few minutes getting his things organized, Clark set out to wondering the streets of Metropolis – searching for a police station.

He found one a few blocks from the hotel. The station was sleek and modern with the words: "Metropolis Police Station 18th Precinct" written on the glass sliding doors in gold. The lobby was pretty nice as well, but it was also pretty empty. Clark stood silently like a moron in the empty room until finally, a female police officer walked by him.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

The officer glanced at Clark. She had a tough, no-nonsense look about her. Her blonde hair was cut very short and her golden colored eyes seemed to be able to look right through the poor country boy that Clark was.

"Yeah?" She asked, crankily.

"Um, I was wondering how would I go about getting a job as a police officer?"

The woman said nothing,

Clark began to shuffle. "I took police training courses in college and I've helped the Force back home, and-"

"Look," the woman interrupted. "This isn't like a McDonald's or something where you can just waltz right in and you get a job. This is a police station. We don't accept crazies off the street."

"I'm not a-"

The woman broke Clark off again. "Ok. I can tell you're not from around here. I don't know where you came from, but this is Metropolis. We have 8 million people living here in this city, so things get a little weird from time to time. Why don't you just go back to your hotel or homeless shelter or wherever and let the big boys here handle the tough stuff, ok?"

Clark was about to explain that he was perfectly capable of handling the "weird stuff when someone out of sight shouted "Maggie" and the female officer with whom he was speaking to just walked off.

After that embarrassing job interview, Clark went back to the hotel to think. Maybe it was a mistake coming to Metropolis. Maybe he should just cut his losses and go back to Smallville. He could do good deeds there, too. And he would be with people who loved him. But…

Clark sighed and put his head in his hands. What was he going to do?

While Clark was examining his life priorities in a dusty old hotel, across the city - at S.T.A.R. Labs - a cloud of anticipation was in the air. David Conner, along with his research team, waited patiently in one of the several airtight biohazard labs contained in the basement levels. They didn't know what they were waiting for. They had only been told to assemble together and that "something incredible" was going to be delivered to them.

After an hour of waiting, the doors to the lab opened with a hiss of air and a team of scientist in bio-contamination suits entered, wheeling something in on a lumber cart. That "something" was about five feet tall, made of a glistening metallic substance with what looked to be metal wings spread open, revealing a sort of cracked-open orb of some kind floating in midair.

The scientist who had wheeled it in stood off to the side of the thing and did not say a word. A hush had fallen over the group.

It was David who spoke first. He walked carefully up to the strange object and ran his hand over the metal. "Fascinating," he said. "Simply incredible!" David turned to the scientists who had brought them the object. "What is this?"

"We don't know," one of them said.

"Well, where did it come from?"

"We don't know."

David was starting to get irritated. "Look, stop with the BS and-"

"No, we really don't know where it came from," one of the scientists said. "All we do know is that some governmental agency found it somewhere and gave it to us to study."

That made sense. After all, S.T.A.R. Labs was the forerunner of newly discovered and applied scientific technologies. David smiled. This was going to be the most important day in his life. And that thing, this object, was going to propel his life into an exciting new direction. He just knew it.

A day after his botched police job interview, Clark took a job as a pizza deliveryman. It wasn't the kind of glamorous work he had in mind when he came to the city, but it came with a paycheck. The cost of living in the big city of Metropolis was out of this world, and Clark knew he had to get a second job if he wanted to continue to exist.

The pizza job wasn't that bad. Actually, it was interesting to go all over the city delivering the pizzas. Clark could sightsee and do his job at the same time. And on his second day at the job, he was given three pepperoni pizzas and the instructions to deliver them to the _Daily Planet_ building.

Clark was instantly interested_. The Daily Planet_ was the nation's top newspaper. It was a source for bias-free reporting and several people in it's writing team had become celebrities in their own right. So needless to say, Clark was giddy as he hopped on his bike and peddled to the address. The _Planet _was a short distance from the pizza place and Clark got there quickly. It was an impressive sight. The building was 27 stories tall and done in the Art-Deco style. A wrought iron globe hung over the main entrance's revolving doors and high above, on top of the building, a giant blue, white, green and brown replica of the earth rotated with the words DAILY PLANET positioned on a ring around the planet.

A chill ran down Clark's spine as he entered the building. The lobby was just as awe-inspiring as the outside. The whole thing was done in marble and polished within an inch of existence. The people inside were rushing here and there, catching elevators and rushing outside – eager for a story.

The pizzas were supposed to go to the 15th floor, so Clark hopped on an elevator and headed up. When it reached 15, the doors parted and Clark stepped out into a whole new world. Everything was chaos. The sound of people clicking on their keyboards and the talking of news anchors on TV monitors positioned in the corners of the room drowned out everything else. Everyone in the room had a purpose. One person was talking on a phone, getting information form a high-up and someone else was watching the TV, eyes peeled for the news events of the day.

"Hey, are you the pizza guy?"

Clark was snapped out of his admiration. He turned toward a guy sitting at a computer. "You can just bring 'em here," the man told Clark.

The pizzas were given to the man and the man gave Clark a huge tip. And with that, the trip inside the secret world of _The Daily Plane_t was over. That had been interesting. As Clark headed back to the pizza place, an idea began to form. He had minored in journalism back in college. And in between helping the Smallville police force, he had written some stories for the _Smallvile Torch_. Sure, it was crazy to compare the _Torch_ to the _Planet_, but he wanted to quit the pizza delivery gig. And what would it hurt to have a job interview?

And that settled it. Tomorrow, Clark would apply for a job at the _Daily Planet_.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Three days had passed since David Conner and his team had been given the object, and in those three days, he had learned a lot. That first day, David had deduced that the object was some kind of vehicle for interspace travel. The ship was apparently invulnerable, so they couldn't cut off a piece of it to analyze. Instead, David attached a data-read device that had been made especially for the lab, on the orb-like portion of the ship. Almost instantly, information began to flow.

The information in question was given to David in a series of complex algorithms, none of which he had ever seen before. But he was eventually able to assign the data to a series of 00010001 values. This way, the information was easy to read. According to the ship's databanks, it had come from a place called "Krypton". The ship had been designed with Earth as it's primary destination, but why it had left Krypton in the first place was a mystery. And what was even more mystifying was the fact that it was empty. Had it been an unmanned vessel or had it once held occupants? And if so, where were those occupants now?

These questions remained unanswered until the third night.

It was late, almost midnight, and David had worked all day on the ship. It was connected to his computer and spouting out all kinds of weird data, but he hadn't been able to deifier any of it. He leaned back in his chair and massaged his eyes. This was taking such a long time. He hadn't eaten anything in hours, and he was very hungry. And yet, he had to go on. He had to.

"Isto niarrayet otta su Krypton."

David's eyes shot open and he jumped out of his chair. Who had said that?! He was alone in the lab! "Is someone there?" He called out to the empty space around him. He was sweating.

A faint humming noise came from his computer and the screen went dark. The screen had been the only thing illuminating the place, and when it went black, the whole lab was plunged into darkness. Then:

"Earth language. English. You have accessed the Krypton Eradicator program."

The voice coming from the computer was flat and dead. David, who had wanted this kind of contact from the ship since it's arrival, was now terrified. He couldn't speak or move.

"You have accessed the Krypton Eradicator program," the monotone voice repeated. "How do you wish to proceed?"

David licked his lips. "Uh … where …. where …. did you come from?" David asked at last. He knew a place called "Krypton", but other than that, he was clueless.

The computer hummed again. "The planet Krypton. Located in constellation Scorpius. A distance of 7,894 light years away from planet Earth."

David was once again speechless. This thing had come from so far away, almost 8,000 light years! "Krypton," he said, letting the name of this new and beautiful place wash over him. "Krypton. Krypton." He turned his attention back to his computer, which was apparently possessed by the ship. He was as happy as a child on Christmas morning. With this thing, the Eradicator program, he could unravel all of the mysteries of the universe! It was spectacular!

"What is your purpose here?" David asked his dark monitor.

A brief silence and then: "To eradicate all things deemed harmful and retardant to the advancement of Kryptonian civilization and the continuation of Kryptonian life. And to also convert all that which is deemed fit for transformation."

"Transformation?" Asked David, his voice a whisper.

"Correct. Transformation. The process of transforming and changing a non-Kryptonian life form into one that is."

Eradication? Transformation? This was all too much for David. So the ship was really a death weapon? He asked this to the program.

"Incorrect. The vessel which you have in your possession was designed as a mode of transport for a Kryptonian life form to escape the destruction of the planet and arrive on Earth."

Ah, this was news! So the ship had been loaded with an ET and rocketed off the planet before it's destruction so that the inhabitant of the ship could colonize Earth. Fear gripped David's heart. Somewhere, an alien was walking around with the sole purpose to remake the Earth into it's old home world.

"The life form is identical to humans in appearance," the program continued. "However, it may demonstrate inhuman powers and abilities." A pause. "The life form must be located. It is likely that interaction with humans has tainted its true Kryptonian potential. According to the ship's navigational systems, which have been cross-referenced with your computer's internal database, it is certain that the ship landed on Earth. North America. The United States of America. Kansas. Osage County. Smallville."

David was stunned. Basically what the program was saying was that the ship had landed a town in Kansas and that it wanted the "life form" brought to it.

"It is imperative that the life form be located." The Eradicator program said.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" David asked.

The program didn't respond.

David sighed and messaged his temples. His back was turned to the space ship and he didn't see the long, snake-like metal coil spring out of the ship's underbelly. The coil lunged at David. He wasn't aware of any of this until a sharp pain was felt at the base of his neck. He grimaced. It had felt like a bee sting.

The coil silently slithered back into the ship.

David was about to reach his hand to the back of his neck when his vision went blurry. Soon, he was totally blind. Then came terrible stomach cramps. He vomited upon his computer and then lost all control over his nervous system. He tried to call out for help, but it was useless. First of all, he was alone in the lab and secondly, he couldn't move his vocal chords to produce speech anyway.

The scientist collapsed upon the floor, his eyes wide open but without sight. To all outward appearances, he looked dead.

The space ship loomed over him – a silent judge.

…

The next day, very early in the morning, a man entered Luthor International Air Station and bought a ticket for the next available flight to Kansas. There was something strange about the man, and all of the flight attendants noticed it. He never blinked, never smiled and if asked a question, he would speak in a chillingly monotone manner. He never acted in a hostile manner, but when the plane landed in Topeka, everyone was glad to see him go.

…

Meanwhile, in Metropolis, the new day dawned bright and cheery. Clark awoke from a peaceful feeling refreshed. After eating breakfast in the hotel's dining room, he went back to his room and put on his best suit. He had to look good for his interview today. Yes, sir. Today, if everything worked out alright, he would have a job at the _Daily Planet_.

Clark was halfway out of the door when his cell phone rang. He answered it. "Hello?"

"Clark." It was his mother, but something was wrong. It sounded like she had been crying. ""Clark, c-c-can you come home? S-s-ssssomething's come up." Her voice shook and shuddered. Yes, something was defiantly wrong.

"Ma, what is it? What's going on?"

But the phone went dead.

Like a speeding bullet, Clark ran down the hotel's empty halls and found the door to the stairwell. He took the stairs two at a time and when he reached the roof of the building, he simply stretched his arms skyward and took off into the sky as if shot from a cannon. It was reckless to do that, though. Somebody could have been watching. But there wasn't time to think about that now. Ma had sounded so nervous and scared. That wasn't like her at all. Usually, she was the model of strength and fortitude …. so whatever was going on was serious.

The skyscrapers of Metropolis whizzed by Clark as he flew through the city at breakneck speed. In no time, he had left it far behind him and within a matter of seconds Massachusetts gave way to New York and then New York became Pennsylvania. The layout of the land below him morphed and changed from urban developments choked with decrepit buildings to wide sweeping grassy plains.

And in no time Clark had transversed eight states in two minutes.

The Kent farm came into view. Vast fields of corn stretched as far as the eye could see and the only buildings in sight was the old red barn that Jonathan kept his cows in and the simple two-story brick house that Clark had called home for the past 27 years.

Clark touched down and sped toward the house. His heart was racing. What could have happened? Jonathan had heart troubles…. Did he have a heart attack? Was he in the hospital already? Or was it worse than that? Was he already…. No. Clark shoved these unpleasant thoughts from his head as he opened the front door to the Kent house.

The first thing Clark noticed was that the house was a mess. The normally tidy living room was in complete disarray. Pillows from the nearby sofa were scattered everywhere, the reading lamp over Jonathan's recliner had been apparently hurled across the room and the bookcase in the corner had been overturned – something that would have taken a great deal of physical strength.

But there was no time to analyze the mess, because Clark's sensitive hearing was picking up two thudding heartbeats coming from the kitchen area. In a flash, Clark rushed to the kitchen. But he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

Martha had flattened herself against the corner of the room, her face a mask of terror. Her eyes were trained on her husband, who was in the clutches of a man that Clark had never seen before. The man was certainly strong, for he was holding Jonathan by up off the floor at least two feet.

No explanation was needed as to who this guy was, or what his motive might be for harassing two innocent people. All Clark knew was that this man was putting his family in danger and that just wouldn't do. No, it wouldn't do at all.

Before Martha, Jonathan or the mystery man had even noticed Clark's presence; Clark was already hurling himself at the stranger. A right hook caught the man completely off guard and sent him and Jonathan crashing to the floor.

"Clark!" Martha ran to her son and hugged him tight. "I don't know what happened! It was just … he …. that man just showed up asking questions about you and Jonathan told him to leave and then he just started to beat up on him and – and – and I called you and…" Her voice broke down into a series of sobs and she sank to the floor beside her husband. "Oh, Jonathan!" She turned to Clark. "Clark, is he ok?! Is he?!"

He was. More scared than anything else, Jonathan enveloped Martha in a gigantic bear hug. Once she had regained her composure, Jonathan turned to his son. "Do you know this guy? Who is he? What does he want?"

Clark looked at the body on the floor. He could detect no heartbeat with his super-hearing. It was just then that a terrible thought struck him. The man was dead and Clark had killed him. That punch had been full-strength. Clark had been so upset at seeing his family in danger that he hadn't held back and now he had killed someone.

He approached the seemingly lifeless body, not sure what he was going to do. The crazy idea of burying him in the backyard popped up, but that was out of the question. Clark would simply have to tell the sheriff what he'd done. He'd killed a man in self-defense. It was all right if it was in self-defense. But, even so, Clark didn't know if he could live with himself now that he had-

The body began to move.

No. No, it was impossible! That had been a full-strength punch! It was a wonder his brains hadn't been splattered all over the room!

The man whom Clark had struck got to his feet with no trouble at all. His face was blank and emotionless, and completely uncut. There wasn't even the faintest bruise.

Clark stood there, stunned to silence. It was clear that this guy wasn't "normal". Who was this guy and what did he want? Clark was going to get the answers, but first…

"Ma, Pa," he said in a stern voice, not taking his eyes off the super-resilient intruder. "Go outside. Go now."

Martha and Jonathan didn't have to be told twice. They fled from the kitchen and into the front yard.

Clark then turned his attention to the mystery man. "Alright," he said through clenched teeth. "I want answers. Who are you? And why have you come here looking for trouble? You better have a good answer, because-"

"I am the Eradicator," the man said, cutting Clark off. His voice was cold and flat. Not human at all. "I have come here to seek you out. That is my one purpose, Kal-El."

The man, the … Eradicator, just stood there and watched Clark's reaction. Clark himself was confused. He had never heard of anybody or anything called "the Eradicator" before and the name Kal-El was completely new to him. Still not moving a muscle, and keeping his gaze focused just on the stranger, Clark told him this.

"I was expecting this," he said. The Eradicator moved closer to Clark and gently put his hand on his shoulder. "After all, you were only a child when you were sent here."

A feather could have knocked Clark over. How was it that this guy knew about the ship?! How could he know that Martha and Jonathan weren't his biological parents and that he himself had been found in a rocket ship? It was all too much. Could this guy be an alien from "the home planet"? He looked human enough – average build, average height, his dark brown hair cut in a dorky 1950's buzz – but then again, so did Clark.

"_How do you know about me?!_," Clark screamed, his fists balled up. "TELL ME!"

"Alright." The Eradicator put his hands on his hips and closed his eyes. "I will tell you all you need to know. And maybe this will help."

A strange crackling and hissing noise filled the room. The very air felt heavy and hot. Then, with a sudden _VOOM_, Clark's spaceship, the one that had brought him to Earth as a baby, materialized out of thin air in front of them. "You were born Kal-El of Krypton," the Eradicator said as he stroked the metallic wings of the ship. "You father was Jor-El, and a member of the Council of Ten – the governing force of Krypton. It was he who built this space vessel when he learned of his planet's impending doom. It was his wish that you would continue the Kryptonian way of life on your adoptive planet."

So that was it. After all these years of wondering, Clark Kent _knew_. True, he had guessed he was probably from another planet (he had always known about the ship, and that was kind of a big clue), but to hear his suspicions confirmed was both reassuring and frightening. Clark wanted to know more, but he wasn't ready to dish out his innermost life-questions to a man who a minute ago was about to use his father as a punching bag. So instead of asking the more personal questions, Clark asked just one.

"If what you say is true, why couldn't Jor-El save himself? Why couldn't he have built his own rocket and went with me?"

The Eradicator patted the ship. "All your answers regarding your father are in here. Inside this vessel is a holographic AI interface that Jor-El created with the sole purpose of answering any questions you have. Apparently, the vessel had been damaged at some point, possibly during entry into the Earth's atmosphere. That is why the said AI interface was unviable to you even though you've had the vessel in your possession for years. I took the liberty of correcting the malfunction for you."

Everything the Eradicator was saying struck Clark as true. He didn't know how or why, but everything seemed like it fit in with what little he knew about his past. But even if this information was true, Clark didn't want the Eradicator in the Kent house for one minute longer. He was more than willing to fight him and punish him for what he had done to his Pa, but that would just lead to the house getting damaged and both Martha and Jonathan could be injured in the duel.

It was better to just tell him to kiss off.

"Well, thanks," Clark said sarcastically. "Since I have this handy dandy AI whatchamagiget, you can just leave."

"There's really no need to access it," the Eradicator responded. "The only thing you should know is that your father sent you here so that you could shape the Earthlings into a purer, more Kryptonian way of life."

"Oh, really? I thought he sent me here to escape the destruction of the planet. That's what you just said."

"That's true. But his hope was that once you arrived on Earth, you would rule the Earth people and guide them into a new future where the House of El still stands strong."

"Fine. But if you'll excuse me, I'll just get this information straight from the source." And with that, Clark moved in between the Eradicator and the ship.

"Very well. I realize that you think of yourself as an Earthling, but just remember that you're not. I will leave you now to ponder your destiny. After you have accessed the AI interface, I will return to you in two day's time."

And without any further words, the man who called himself "the Eradicator" brushed by Clark and left the Kent residence via the front door. Clark watched him go. He felt chilled. So he had two days to accept his "destiny". Whatever that was.

He sighed. Well, there was only one way to find out what that might be.

Clark placed his hand on the ship. A series of chime sounds rung out and a glowing form began to appear to his left side.

He was finally going to know everything.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The glowing form began to condense. The outline of a body could be made out and before long; the light had taken the form of a man. The man couldn't have been any older than Clark's 27 years. He stood about 6 feet, 4 inches tall and was of an extremely athletic build. His hair was long and black, and it fell to his shoulders. His eyes were solid white. No irises. No pupils. Clad in a bright blue spandex-looking outfit, complete with a multi-layered red cape that was attached to a stylized S-shaped symbol, he certainly looked … well, alien.

"My son," the man said. His voice was deep and authoritative. "You do not know me. I am your father, Jor-El. I speak to you now though I am dead. My will has been left in this virtual form so that I am help you through your journey into adulthood."

Clark moved closer to the hologram. It looked real enough. It wasn't transparent in any way.

"I know that you have questions," Jor-El continued. "And the time has come for you to ask them."

Knowing that he had been sent to Earth to escape the destruction of Krypton, Clark decided to launch right on in. "Why couldn't you save yourself?" he asked. "If you could build me a rocket, why couldn't you have done the same?"

It took a few seconds for the AI version of Jor-El to process the question. "As a member of the Council of Ten – a group of ten scientists who governed the planet – my genetic structure had been altered in such a way that any attempt made by me to leave the planet would result in my death." Jor-El paused and lowered his head. "I tried to convince your mother, the Lady Lara Lor-Van, to escape as well, but she would hear none of it." He raised his head and stared into his son's eyes. "She is so loyal to me, but that loyalty will be rewarded with death."

"My mother…" Clark whispered.

"Come with me, my son," Jor-El said. "Journey with me to the moments before you left us."

With these words, the kitchen around Clark began to fade into a murky blackness. The tick, tick, tick of the grandfather clock in the living room grew fainter with each passing second. Soon, the Kent home was no more. Clark stood alone in a vast, dark space, stretching on for infinity.

Suddenly, the blackness was no more. In its place was a sweeping field of corn. Clark looked up and saw a clear blue sky with lazy white clouds stretched across it. A gentle breeze made the cornstalks sway, but oddly enough, Clark couldn't feel anything.

And then he saw his father, his biological father, standing in front of him. His iris-less eyes were fixed on the rustling cornstalks. His had an air of sadness about him. It was obvious from the way he stood and the way his lips were bent downward.

Jor-El reached out a gloved hand to touch the corn, but stopped when a voice interrupted.

"What is this?" It was a woman's voice, very soft and barely audible.

Clark turned and from saw a woman approaching him. She was clothed in an off-the shoulder red, blue and yellow bejeweled top and a brown and green flowing dress that came complete with a six-foot long train. Various necklaces, bracelets and rings adorned her body and she wore a golden Egyptian-esque headdress over short, black hair.

The next thing Clark noticed about her was her eyes. They were beautiful cerulean blue, and he knew at once that this was his mother.

She came closer and closer to Clark, and just when he was about to move out of the way, she simply passed through him.

"Lara," Jor-El said as he turned to her.

She went to his side and put her hands in his. "What is this place?"

As she asked the question, Clark noted that the words he heard and the movement of her lips didn't quite mach up. Could it be that the ship's AI program was translating their language into English?

Jor-El nodded to the fields around him. "This is Kansas, a region of the planet Earth. This is where our son will be sent."

Lara let go of his hands and looked about. "It's so different from Krypton. It looks so…." She paused and watched as a strong wind came rolling across the plains, shaking the cornstalks violently. "It seems so primitive."

"True, the planet is far younger than ours and the inhabitants are eons behind us in terms of scientific discovery. But I believe that it is the best hope we have for Kal-El's survival." Jor-El waved his hand in the air and suddenly, the corn fields of Kansas were no more. In its place was a pristine laboratory. The lab was huge. The ceilings curved upward at a height of at least 50 feet, and the Kent home could easily fit within the room itself. The only ounce of color in it was the outfits of Jor-El and Lara. Everything else was a shiny white.

"We have but hours to live," Jor-El said. He moved toward an open-air observation deck and gazed out onto Krypton. Heavy black clouds chocked the skies of the planet, which were a sickening yellow and orange color. The ground below was scarred and rocky. The barren soil was a light green and went on for miles without any terrain changes. It was all flat and featureless.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Jor-El's face was stony as he listened to the sounds of the approaching storm. "Our arrogance has doomed us. The Council of Ten has refused to take my warnings seriously and for that, we must all die." He chocked on his words and a tear slid down his cheek. "Nine men have sentenced the entire population of Krypton to death."

Lara wiped away the tear from her partner's eyes. "You have tried. That was all that could be done. At least you can rest at peace knowing that you were in the right."

"And I can also rest in peace knowing that Kal-El will be spared."

A section of the lab wall slid back and together they passed through the new opening. Clark followed behind them.

They were in a new room now. The entire place seemed to have been made from solid gold, and strange carvings were etched in the walls. In the center of the room was a floating object. It was a sphere, with the top part cut away.

Lara reached into the sphere and pulled out a baby, wrapped in a shiny blue, red, and yellow blanket.

Clark knew at once that he was looking at himself. A strong feeling of déjà vu washed over him, though he knew he was too young to have remembered any of this. But nonetheless, a familiar sensation swept through him when he saw Lara holding his past-self and Jor-El tickling his cheeks. And that sensation was love.

"I know Kal-El will be safe on Earth," Lara said. "But will he be loved? Will he be taken in by some kind Earth family, or will he be forever alone? Will he be alienated by the inhabitants of that planet, or will they accept him?" She sobbed. "These are questions which I shall never know the answers to."

Jor-El sprang to life. He took hold of Lara's shoulders and shook her. "Then go with him to Earth! I beg of you! You know I have constructed two space vessels. One for Kal-El and one for you. If you are concerned for our son, go with him! Love him if you don't think anyone else will."

A faint smile crept over Lara's lips. She bowed her head. "We have had the conversation before."

"But Lara-"

"No, Jor-El. You cannot leave, and if you cannot leave, neither shall I."

"If you can escape this planet's demise along with our son, I can die in peace. Just think of it, Lara! Under the light of Earth's yellow sun, both you and Kal-El will gain fantastic powers! The power of flight, the power of extraordinary sight, speed, strength!" He was going to say more, but held his tongue when he saw she wasn't impressed.

"Even if I were to escape to Earth, it would be strange to me. I would feel out of place, knowing nothing of the cultures-"

"But I have studied the cultures!" Jor-El broke in. "I have studied the Earth languages! I have been able to learn these things from that planet's satellite transmissions, and I can teach them to you! I can teach you through the AI system I have created!"

Lara shook her head. "I stand firm. I will not leave your side."

Jor-El said nothing else on the subject, but Clark could tell he was not at all pleased. He could see the gears in his father's head spinning fast, trying to come up with a good argument that would convince Lara to escape too, but apparently he could think of none.

Just then, a deafening roar exploded around them. The floor shook with such force that Lara almost dropped young Clark, otherwise known as Kal-El.

"It's here!" Jor-El exclaimed. He and Lara ran back to the lab, with modern-day Clark hot on their heels.

The sky of Krypton, as seen through the observatory, was black as soot. The ground below had broken onto pieces and glowing green lava gushed out from the cracks. Lightning streaked across the sky. The smell of sulfur and acid was everywhere.

Jor-El made another hand gesture, and a series of bar code like symbols appeared in front of him. Another earthquake shook the planet, and the symbols flickered. The lab was losing power. Quickly, Jor-El touched three of the bar code images.

Outside, a massive lightning bolt shot down from the sky and struck the ground not five feet from the building they were occupying. Flaming chunks of rock were thrown into the air and came crashing back down to the ground.

"Hurry!" Lara called out.

Clark heard a noise above him and looked up. The ceiling of the lab had retracted and his space ship was gliding downward. As soon as it touched down, the lab was plunged into darkness.

"The backup power systems are down!" Jor-El cried out over the pandemonium. He turned to Lara. "Quickly, place him in the orb!"

She ran toward the ship, almost tripping on her dress. With shaking hands, she placed her only child inside the crystal orb. It sealed itself as soon as the infant was inside and when that was done, the ships two wing-like structures folded over it with a hissing noise.

"He'll survive the ship through space?" Asked Lara through a barrage of tears.

"Yes!" Jor-El exclaimed. The noise was overwhelming. "The ship will keep him cryogenically frozen until he reaches Earth!"

Lara nodded and kissed the metal of the ship. "Then this is goodbye."

Jor-El put his hands on her waist and pulled her to him. "I love you," he said.

"And I love you."

The two kissed, a rare act of affection that Kryptonians hardly ever preformed. Jor-El made another hand gesture and the ship took off.

It sailed up and out of the lab's open ceiling, dodging lightning strikes. Down below, the floating House of El, where Jor-El and Lara resided, crashed to the ground with a massive explosion.

As the ship gained altitude, other such Kryptonian dwellings could be seen. Each floating above the dying planet. And within seconds, each one came falling to the ground.

The ship rocketed through Krypton's atmosphere escaped into the void of space. The vessel was quite a distance from the planet when Krypton exploded. The explosion was silent and happened within the blink of an eye. Massive chunks of the planet were hurled through space and pelted little Kal-El's ship relentlessly.

But the ship's shields held up and it wasn't damaged.

The ship's computers scanned for the fastest way to Earth and found it. A path, unfortunately, that would take it dangerously near the red dwarf star of Rao. As it passed the huge star's path, it was caught in its gravitational pull. Jor-El, however, had anticipated this.

The six golden rays at the head of the ship dipped downward. Each ray contained within it a massive anti-gravity charge. The charges enabled the ship to counteract Rao's pull just long enough for the computers to engage the wormhole device.

The device was activated within moments to spare. The ship was able to glide through the newly created space-rift and as it did so, the artificial wormhole sealed itself shut.

And so, Kal-El's ship was able to traverse thousands of light-years within a matter of minutes.

Slowly, the vast emptiness of space faded. The black void became gray and the stars winked out, one by one. And Clark found himself back in his parent's kitchen. His spaceship was still in front of him and so was the holographic version of Jor-El.

"And so we sent you off," Jor-El said. "It was a blind gamble, but the fact that you are here, watching this, is proof that the gamble paid off."

Clark was too overcome with emotion to speak. All he could do was stare at the man who had saved his life. Clark felt such admiration for this man, and it broke his heart that he couldn't remember either one of his biological parents. He felt guilty for that.

"..ark."

It was like they had saved him for nothing.

"…lark."

He had failed them, both Jor-El and Lara. Their faces stirred in him nothing but the faintest sense of déjà vu and a fleeting feeling of love.

"Clark!"

The voice of Jonathan Kent snapped Clark out of his melancholy thoughts. Both Jonathan and Martha were huddled in the doorway of the kitchen, frightened expressions on their face. "Is he gone?"

"Yes," Clark said. "He's gone."

Jonathan's face relaxed. He took Martha's hand and led her into the kitchen. And stopped. He was looking past Clark, at the space ship and the image of Jor-El. His eyes expanded to twice their normal size and his knees began to shake. Beside him, Martha also caught sight of Jor-El and a muffled yelp escaped from her lips.

"Ma, Pa, it's ok!" Clark looked back at the image of the red, blue and yellow clad man. Apparently, the Kents did not register to him. "Relax! He isn't real!"

Clark's parents didn't seem too comforted by this.

"Ok, I'll prove it to you." Clark walked up to Jor-El and put his hand straight through the holographic image. "See?"

Martha looked from her son to Jor-El. Her forehead was wrinkled in confusion. Taking a few tiny steps forward, she asked: "Who is he? And how did the ship get here?"

"And who was that man that broke into our house?" Cried Jonathan, out of breath.

Clark took hold of his mother's hands. "Just clam down, ok, everybody? I'll tell you all I know, but I think you may want to sit down."

Jonathan and Martha exchanged looks and sat down heavily at the table. Neither one of them said anything. They were ready to hear all their son had to say. And they were expecting the worst.

…

Fifteen minutes later, Clark had told them everything he knew. He told them about the Eradicator, Krypton, and how he was sent to Earth to escape his home planet's destruction. He also told them about Jor-El and Lara.

And as he did, another funny feeling came over him. Sure, Jor-El and Lara were his natural parents, but Jonathan and Martha were his _real_ parents. It had been Jonathan, not Jor-El, who had taught Clark how to throw a baseball. And it had been Martha, not Lara, who had kissed his boo-boos before the Earth's yellow sun had made him completely invulnerable.

The very idea of comparing the Kents to the El family was crazy. Jonathan, with his tattered old overalls, sandy colored mustache and farmer's tan could never be as intelligent as the mighty Jor-El. And Martha, more than a few pounds overweight and with her home-perm jobs, could never be as elegant as the Lady Lara Lor-Van.

But it was the Kents whom Clark felt the _most_ affection and love for. He was grateful to his Kryptonian parents for saving his life, but it had been the Kents who had shaped that life.

"Wow," Jonathan said, after he had heard everything. "Wow."

Martha, who had been turning an empty saltshaker over and over in her hands for the past fifteen minutes, stopped. "So this Eradicator, he said he'll contact you after two days?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah. And when he does come back, I want you guys out of here. I'll be back in Metropolis, but he'll probably stop by here first."

"Does this guy know you live in Metropolis?" Jonathan asked.

"I don't think so. I don't know how he's planning on finding me. Your guess is as good as mine, but I still want you and Ma out of here. Maybe even out of the state,"

Martha thought for a bit. "We could go visit my cousin in North Dakota, I guess." It was clear she was frightened. Clark couldn't blame her.

"What will you do if he finds you?" Jonathan asked.

"I'll just tell him that I have no interest in embracing my "Kryptonian destiny".

"I don't think you'll have any luck with that. He doesn't seem like the type of person who takes no for an answer."

"I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it." Clark sighed. "All this on top of everything else."

Martha reached out and took his hand. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Oh, nothing really. I didn't get the police job, so now I'm shooting for the _Daily Planet._"

Jonathan sputtered. "The _Daily Planet_? The nation's best selling newspaper? How are you going to land a job there?" He sounded incredulous.

Clark frowned. "I have my supportive family behind me," he answered sarcastically.

Jonathan went red with embarrassment. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Nah, I was just kidding," Clark said, waving off the apology. "But I really think I have a shot. I was an on-again off-again reporter for the _Smallville Torch_, and I wrote that prize-winning essay for that magazine. Remember?"

Martha nodded. "I do. Your essay on adoption won the $1,000 first prize." She leaned forward, trying to look out into the living room. "We have it framed over there, above the TV."

"Well, I'm hoping my first-prize essay and a few samples of my _Torch_ reporting will be enough to convince whoever's the head guy at the _Planet_ to give me a job." Clark walked over to the refrigerator and leaned against it. "But I really wanted to be on the Metropolis Force. I was looking forward to helping people."

"You can help people with the power of the press, too." Martha said.

Clark nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But I wanted to be in the middle of it all. I have all these powers that could be used for a lot of good." He looked back at the ship, which was still in the kitchen. He then thought about Metropolis, the biggest city in America. Kryptonian destiny….

He had an idea.

"Maybe there is a way I can use my powers to help people without being a police officer," Clark said, his voice rising with excitement. "Wait right there," he told his parents.

In a flash, he bounded up the stairs and headed for his old room – which was kept just the way he had left it before going off to college. He rummaged around until he found a drawing pad and a few colored pencils. He ran back downstairs.

"I was thinking of something like a special uniform or costume,' Clark said. He drew a human outline with pencil on the pad. "Something like what Jor-El was wearing in the hologram."

Martha looked back at the ship. The hologram had long since vanished. She turned back to Clark and watched as he drew.

"The body can be blue." He chose the proper colored pencil and colored in the body. "And I'm thinking some red boots, too."

"And don't forget the cape," Martha chirped. "The cape adds a touch of mystery."

Knowing his mom was onboard with the idea, the ideas came faster for Clark. "Yeah, a cape will be great! And the costume itself will have to be made out of a spandex-like material."

Beside him, Jonathan made a noise. "Spandex? You're going to be running around in spandex?" He snorted. "Are you sure about this?"

Clark blushed. "It'll have to be tight-fighting so it won't tear."

Jonathan laughed out loud. "Hey, why don't you join the ballet instead? I'll buy you a little tutu!" He was laughing so hard now, his eyes were watering.

"Jonathan Kent! You stop that right now!" Martha scolded. After straitening out her husband, she gave Clark her attention again. "Now, this is a great outfit you've made, but I think it needs something here," she tapped on the chest of the sketch. "Like a symbol or something." She thought for a moment until an idea struck. "How about that symbol Jor-El was wearing?"

"The S-thing?" Clark asked.

"Yes! We could put that on the chest!" She took the red and yellow colored pencils and drew it in. "Doesn't that look nice?"

Clark ran a hand through his hair. "It looks nice, but what does it mean?"

"I don't know, but maybe it could stand for your superhero name!"

"I have to have a superhero name?"

"Of course!" Martha smiled and leaned back in her chair. She tapped her fingers on her chin and thought. "It'll have to start with an S."

"Sun-Man," Jonathan said out of nowhere.

Martha and Clark stared at him,

"I'm serious! Sun-Man! The sun gives Clark his powers. It's a good name."

"Hmm." Martha turned up her nose. "I think Solar-Man would be better."

Clark smiled. "Solar-Man. I like it!" He rose from the table and struck a heroic pose. "This is a job for Solar-Man!"

Martha clapped.

"Fine, fine," Jonathan said, pretending to be hurt. "I can't take part in your superhero games? That's ok." He got up from his chair and began to walk out of the kitchen. "I'll just be who-knows-where, doing who-knows-what. I guess I don't have any good ideas."

"See you later, honey," Martha said as she waved goodbye.

Jonathan rolled his eyes and went upstairs.

"Ooh, this is so exciting!" Martha gushed.

…

After a trip into town to buy some fabric and new thread, Martha commenced work on the superhero outfit. It only took six hours to complete the blasted thing, and when it was finished, Clark went into the bathroom to try it on.

Downstairs, in the newly organized den, Martha and Jonathan waited for the grand reveal.

"Ok, I'm ready!" Clark voice echoed from upstairs.

"Come on down, sweetie!" Martha said. She was so excited she couldn't sit still.

Clark appeared at the head of the stairs, dressed in his costume. It looked just the way he had drawn it – a blue body with red trunks held up by a gold belt, red knee-high boots, and of course, the following red cape.

Martha put her hands to her mouth. "Oh, my goodness! You look so cute!"

"Maaa! I don't want to look 'cute'! I want to look tough!"

Jonathan glanced up from the paper he had been reading. "You do know you're wearing your underwear on the outside, don't you?"

Martha turned on her husband. "Will you please just sit there and read your paper like a good little boy? Honestly!" She glanced at the red and yellow S-symbol, which she had made from felt. "How do you like the S? Do you think it'll stay on good enough?"

Clark ran his finger along the outline of the S. "I like it. And I like the yellow one you put on the back of the cape, too. Now we just need to come up with some mask ideas."

"A mask?" Martha frowned. "Why do you want to cover up your handsome face?"

Jonathan folded his paper and sat it down on the carpet. "He'll need a mask if he's gonna be running around in _that_ getup."

Knowing that to acknowledge her husband would just invite more sarcastic comments, Martha ignored him completely. "I just don't think a mask is the way to go," she said. "Maybe we can come up with something else."

Clark shuffled. It was clear that he didn't feel 100 comfortable in his costume yet. "I'll need a mask if I'm going to fight crime as Solar-Man and work in Metropolis as Clark Kent. I have to keep the two identities separate."

A few moments of silence passed while everyone thought of ways to solve the mask problem. In the end, though, it was Martha who came up with a solution. As usual. "Ok, so the superhero side and the everyday Clark Kent side have to be seen as two different identities, right? Well, the first thing you need to do as Solar-Man is stand up straight."

Clark instantly went to attention and gained 3 inches in height. He puffed out his chest and planted his feet shoulder length apart. "I am superhero," he said, his voice deep and resonant. "I talk like this when I save people."

A soft giggle came from Martha's lips. "Yes, I like that. You should talk that way when you're in costume. Oh, and you should also carry around some hair gel with you. Whenever you need to change into Solar-Man, you can just take the gel and slick back your hair. It'll really change the shape of your face."

"I don't want to just rely on a deep voice, better posture and hair gel. I still think I need a mask."

"But if you have a mask, people will automatically assume that you have a secret identity." She turned to her husband. "Jonathan, do you still have your old glasses?"

"I think so," he said. "Wait a minute."

A quick search of the house produced the glasses and Martha placed them on Clark. The glasses were thick with black rims and as soon as they were placed on Clark, his face changed shape, becoming more marrow.

"There!" Martha exclaimed. "You look like a completely different man! Just wear the classes in your everyday life, and nobody will even guess that you are two different people."

It was clear she was convinced, but Clark and Jonathan had their doubts (though each held back saying so for fear of hurting Martha's feelings.) But in the end, Clark said he thought it was a good idea and promised her he'd wear the glasses daily.

With the costume made and the mask problem solved, Martha and Jonathan packed up some clothes and gave Clark the phone number for where they would be staying in North Dakota. Emotional goodbyes were exchanged and then they left for the airport. Watching them drive off caused Clark's stomach to churn. Was this the last time he'd see them? With the Eradicator on his tail, that might very well be the case. But who knew? It was better to just wait the two days out and whatever happens happens.

Clark spent the next few minutes gathering up samples of his writing. He took down the framed essay that hung on the wall and plowed through stacks of old newspaper trying to locate an edition of the _Smallville Torch_, which he had made a contribution to. With that done, he dug a 10-foot hole in the back yard and buried his spaceship in it.

Now the only thing that was left was landing that job at the _Planet_.

Clark sighed as he looked up into the starry night sky. The moon was nearly full. What did the future hold? The moon seemed to hold the answers. The moon, circling the Earth, high above all the troubles of the planet, seemed to know the exact path Clark's future would take.

The feeling was eerie.

Whatever happens, happens.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Blackness. That was where David Conner was. A dark space, devoid of any sense of space or time. David was falling. He had been falling for a long time. All around him, faint voices could be heard. The voices seemed to be very far off one minute and the next; they were so loud that the entire black void was filled with nothing but their sound. David strained to make out actual words, but it was useless. Everything was muttered and jumbled.

And then – a light.

The light washed over the falling David. He tried to cry out, but he could make no sound. The brilliant radiance filled the void completely. The voices were gone now. And David had stopped falling. He was –

With a jerk, David opened his eyes. He found himself in his apartment. The bathroom, to be exact. In the bathtub. And judging by the cold temperature of the water, he had to have been lying in the tub for at least an hour.

David brought a shaking hand to his face. He felt terrible. His head throbbed and for some reason, his jaw felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer. And what about the bath? He couldn't remember drawing it or getting in the tub. Come to think of it, everything was a bit blurry. The last thing David could recall was studying the space ship back at S.T.A.R. Labs. Everyone else had gone home for the night but him. Yes. He had been working on figuring out where the ship had come from, and then… What? Everything else was gone. He simply had no memory of the events following his examination of the ship.

But how did he get back to his apartment? Trying to make sense of it all, David recalled the urban legend of the businessman in the bar. The businessman had been having drinks at a hotel bar when a beautiful woman approached him. They started to talk and the man invited the woman up to his room. Later, he awoke in a bathtub filled with ice. It turned out the woman had drugged him harvested a kidney from him while he was unconscious.

David looked down to see if any body parts were missing. Nope. Everything was fine. Hmm. Well, maybe he had just gone out for a round of drinks after work and had gotten a little drunk. That was why he couldn't remember anything. Except he was a very light drinker. And he had never been drunk before in his life.

The phone rang.

David stood up in the tub and stretched. He felt a little achy. Especially his face, for some reason. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he trotted into the bedroom and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"David! Finally!"

Dr. Kitty Faulkner. David's lab colleague.

"Kitty?

"Yes!" She let out a sigh from the other end. "Where HAVE you been? I've left like a million messages!"

David glanced at the answering machine lying next to the phone. Sure enough, the number "12" was blinking in bright red light on the screen. "Sorry," he said. "I've been out of town." Had he? Ah, well. It was as good excuse as any.

"Out of town? Out of town?!" Kitty's voice was high pitched and clearly stressed. "Well, you better get your butt back to the lab ASAP! We've got a situation."

"What situation? What are you talking about?"

"The spaceship!" Kitty shrieked. "The spaceship is gone and we have NO idea where it is!"

David almost dropped the phone. Could the spaceship's disappearance and his amnesia be linked? It was almost certain. Had he stolen the ship? Had a rouge group of scientists broken into the lab and taken it and knocked him out in the struggle? Maybe. All David knew was that he was suddenly in the middle of a huge mess, with no idea how to escape from it.

…

"What's your name again?"

Clark pushed his new glasses up further on his nose with his forefinger. "Clark Kent."

The man behind the large oak desk frowned and put his beefy hands on his hips. "Look, son. You can't just walk in here and get a job just like that, okay?"

"I know that, Mr. White," Clark said. "But I was hoping that my work would speak for itself." A file full of old _Smallville Torch_ clippings and the de-framed essay was placed on the desk. "I would appreciate it if you could give me your opinion."

Perry White, the _Daily Planet_'s editor and chief, sighed and loosened up his drab necktie. "It's hotter than blazes in here," he muttered. The tie was removed and thrown across a file cabinet in the corner of the office. "Alright, alright. I'll look at 'em. But I have other things to do beforehand. Why don't you come back in a few hours?"

Clark smiled. He already had one foot in the door. Now if he just keep from tripping on the welcome mat… "With all due respect sir, I'd just as soon stay here. I don't mind waiting."

Perry sighed and unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt. "Fine, fine." He scooped up the file and tucked it up under his arm. "I'll be back sometime," he said. And then he was gone.

Alone in the office, Clark felt like he had just scored a home run. He felt sure his work would impress Mr. White. But then again, this was the _Daily Planet. _Could a report on drought and corn fungus really impress a man like Perry White? Perry had sent reporters off to war zones and placed them square in the path of Hurricanes just for a good story. He commanded the grandest and most prestigious newspaper in America! The _Daily Planet_. Planet. As in "covering-the-entire-world". Maybe Clark had gotten in over his head.

To ease his jitters, Clark got up from the hard backed chair and paced around the office. Numerous awards hung on the walls, half of them for "Excellence" and the other half for "Outstanding Quality".

Clark gulped.

One wall in the office was made up of a series of windows that looked out onto the newsroom. The floor of the newsroom looked just as chaotic as the New York Stock Exchange. People were rushing everywhere, important papers in hand. Phones were ringing like crazy. Computer screens were aglow. It all looked so darn cool.

After waiting for some time (two hours and forty-six minutes to be exact), the door to the editor's office opened and Perry stepped in. The dress shirt he had been wearing was gone. In its place was a white wife-beater style undershirt that revealed a tattoo of a naked woman playing the harp high on Perry's bicep.

He said nothing as he closed the office door behind him. The file was still in his hands. It was impossible to determine if it had even been opened. Perry sat in the large leather chair behind the equally large desk and ran a hand through his thinning brown hair. Clark was aching to find out whether or not he had liked his work. That was assuming Mr. White had read any of it at all. "I hate to say this," Perry began.

_Oh no_, thought Clark_. I've just made a complete fool of myself for the second time with this whole job-interview thing. Great. Now I'll have to crawl on my hands and knees begging to get my pizza delivery job back._

"But I liked it."

_Huh? Is he talking about my work? It? That's what he said. "It" must mean my work! Oh, wow! I can't believe this!"_

Perry cast a quizzical look at Clark. "Son? You look like you're about to pass out or something."

A goofy grin broke out on Clark's face. "No, I'm fine. It's just such an … an honor to hear you liked my work!"

The editor shrugged as if he was unfazed by the roundabout complement. "You have talent, Kent. You're rough, no doubt about it, but I think you have what it takes to eventually become a first-rate reporter."

"Thank you, sir! Thank you!"

"Now keep in mind I said 'eventually'. If you do work here, you'll have to start on the bottom. It's only fair to the others."

Clark's breath caught in his throat. "Does that mean…."

Perry smiled. A little one, but a smile nonetheless. He got up from his chair and extended his hand across the desk. "Welcome to the _Daily Planet._"

"Sir! Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Clark grasped hold of the outreached hand and shook it firmly. A little too firmly.

"OW!" Exclaimed Perry. "That's quite a strong handshake you've got there."

Clark offered a thousand apologies and Perry waved them all off. He asked Clark if he could keep his work samples with him for just a while longer. That was fine, of course. Everything in the world was fine! A job at the _Planet_! Dreams really do come true after all. Perry led the mesmerized Mr. Kent out onto the newsroom. Instantly, Clark felt at home.

"You can start today," Perry said. "You can fill out all the paperwork tomorrow. For now, I'm going to assign you to somebody. You know, someone to help you get the feel of the place." He thought for a bit, mentally going through all the employees' names. "Ah! I've got it. You can partner up with Lois Lane. She should be over in that direction," Perry said, making a vague gesture to the north.

Once again, Clark started up with the embarrassing thank you's. His new boss smiled politely at first and then told him to cut it out. And with that last friendly remark, he faded into the tide of reporters running every which way.

Okay. So. First things first. Find this Lois Lane woman. Clark made his way through the horde of people, with no idea where he was going. And with no idea where he was going, it wasn't long before he ran right into somebody.

"OW!" Someone cried out. "Look where you're going!"

"I'm sorry," Clark apologized. "It's just that I'm new here and I don't know my way around."

The man whom he had run into rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Hey, I know you." Clark said. "Wow! Aren't you Ron Troupe, the sports columnist?"

The man, who was indeed the noted Mr. Troupe of "Ron's Time Out", said nothing.

"I can't believe it! Here it is, my very first day, and I already see somebody famous! Boy! Say, how do the Rams look this year? I think we got the short end of the stick with our defense, but-"

Ron put up a hand, made a "Ppsh" noise and walked away,

Clark frowned. Sheesh. That was rude. But wasn't that always how it was? You meet somebody famous, somebody who you've looked up to for a long time, and they turn out to be stuck-up fatheads. Hopefully the rest of the _Planet_ staff was friendlier. If they weren't, Clark's dream job could easily turn into a nightmare.

"Hey, man?"

Clark turned to his right and saw a boy who couldn't have been any older than 20. The boy's hair was a bright shade of red and almost down to his shoulders. He had multiple piercings – several in his ears, one in his nose and another jeweled speck was lodged above his eyebrow. He was clad in a Pink Floyd T-shirt and baggy kaki shorts. A tribal-looking tattoo circled his upper arm. Whoever this kid was, he would've looked rough and tough if it wasn't for the burst of freckles across his nose and the kind, innocent look in his light blue eyes.

"You new here?" The boy asked.

"Uh, yeah." Clark said. "Clark Kent."

The boy shook his hand. "Jimmy Olsen. I'm a photog here at the _Planet_."

"Wow. So do you work here part time?"

Jimmy looked confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, aren't you in high school?"

Jimmy apparently thought that was the funniest thing he had ever heard. "Ha, ha, ha! That's a trip, man! How old do you think I am, anyway?"

"Uh. Eighteen?" Clark was being generous. The kid looked more like 12, come to think of it.

"Eighteen? Eighteen?! No, man! I just turned 21 last month. Legal now, you know?"

Clark smiled stiffly. This Jimmy kid was a little nutty.

Jimmy caught sight of Clark's look and laughed again. "Lighten up, man! I'm just kiddin'. I don't touch the adult beverages. My body's a temple and only the purest incense gets burned in my temple. Know what I mean?"

Yes, Clark thought he knew just what he meant. The kid was starting to really freak him out a little, so he started up his goodbyes. "It's been nice meeting you, Jimmy, but I have to find someone named Lois Lane. I'm supposed to get her to show me around and everything."

"Oh, I know Lois! She's a nice lady." Jimmy paused. "She just has her moments. You know how it is. Yeah… Anyway, her desk is over there in the corner."

Clark said his thanks and approached the corner desk. Sure enough, a woman was bent over some papers there, her back turned. She was dressed in a tight red dress and the matching red spike heels on her feet gave her a six-inch boost in height.

"Excuse me," Clark said as he came up behind the woman. "Are you Lois Lane?"

The woman turned. She was ravishingly beautiful. High cheekbones, smoky eyes, highlighted medium length brown hair. And a plunging neckline. Yep, this lady looked like she belonged in the pages of Vogue instead of toiling away in the offices of the _Daily Planet. _"Why, yes," the woman responded in a seductive throaty voice. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, yes. I hope so. Mr. White said that since I'm new here you could show me the ropes."

The woman hoped up onto the desk and sat on the edge. "New guy, huh? And a cute new guy at that. Sure, I'll show you the ropes." She leaned forward and grabbed Clark's tie and pulled him close. "And anything else."

Clark was about to have an accident on the floor when another female voice broke in.

"What is going on here? Cat, get off my desk!"

The woman seducing Clark sighed and plopped back onto the floor. The other woman in the picture had her hands on her hips and a displeased expression on her face. "How many times do I have to tell you that this is _my_ personal space? This six by five foot area is a 'No-Cat' zone. Got it?"

The woman, whose name was apparently Cat, batted her eyes at Clark. "Sorry about the mix-up, handsome. I get confused so easily. My name's Cat Grant." She pointed to the other woman. "That train wreck is Lois Lane."

The wreck in question didn't seem too offended by the snide comment. Although it was obvious that Cat and Lois clearly came from different worlds and had different priorities. Cat was gorgeous and was dressed in a figure-hugging tight little red number, while Lois seemed like she had fallen off the 80's mobile. Her frizzy black hair was pulled back from her face and secured with a clunky brown clasp. Her clothes were painfully out of date. Huge shoulder pads, a dreary gray pantsuit, gold oversized jewelry. It was a little sad, really.

"Cat?" Lois asked sweetly.

"Yes, dear?" Cat responded.

"Go. Away."

With a series of sighs, moans, and eye rolling, Cat left, but not before patting Clark on the cheek and offering to "show him around" some other time. With that taken care of, Lois began sorting through some loose papers on her desk. "Fantastic. That's just great! Here I have everything organized and categorized and along comes Hurricane Cat and messes everything up!" She muttered some more words under her breath and shoved the jumbled up papers into a drawer. "So who are you? I haven't seen you around here before."

It took Clark a while to figure out that she was addressing him. "Oh. Yeah, I've just been hired. Clark Kent."

"Lois Lane." Lois said, not looking up from the other papers scattered across the desktop.

"Perry thought maybe you could show me around."

That caught Lois' attention. She stopped what she was doing and turned to Clark, her body stiff and rigid. "He thought _what_? Oh, the nerve of him! That is so typical!" Her voice became deep as she mocked Perry. " 'Uh, Lois, uh, since you're not _doing_ anything, can you, uh, show the new guy around?' This just really steams my clams!" With a sharp tug, she opened up another drawer and shoved the rest of the papers inside. The drawer caught on something and as a result, couldn't be shut. "He never treats me as an equal!" Lois continued. "How can I move up in the world if nobody ever gives me a chance? This is outrageous! This is unbelievable! AND WHY WON'T THIS STUPID THING CLOSE?!"

Half the newsroom halted in their tracks, taking time out of their busy schedules to enjoy another Lois Lane freak-out.

Clark gulped. It was true. All city folks were nuts. "Look, I'm sorry about this. I'm sure I can find my way around. I'll leave you alone, okay?" He was about to sprint off in another direction when Lois stopped him.

"Sorry about that," she said. Her voice had taken on a more normal tone and the veins in her neck were gone. "It's just that these things are always happening to me. See, I've known Perry since I was a little girl. He and my dad were in the Army together. Anyway, when I expressed interest in journalism, Perry offered me a job at the _Daily Planet. _He probably did it out of respect for my father. But I didn't care.I thought 'Hey, this is my dream come true!' Working for the most respected paper in the business, using the power of the press to help people who can't help themselves. Know what I mean?"

Clark nodded.

"Well, I got the job. _A_ job, anyway. I restock the toilet paper in the ladies' room. On good days, I proofread the recipe section." The bitterness was apparent in her voice. "I know I could be the world's best reporter, but nobody will give me a chance to prove it. I'll take any assignment! I bet you I could turn a story about a dog show into a Pulitzer Prize winning article!" Lois shrugged and sank down into her chair. She looked so depressed and dejected. Clark could sympathize with her. They both had aspirations toward becoming "champions of the people". Both had the willpower and the drive to do it, but they were new to the game and didn't exactly know all the rules.

After gushing all that out, Lois looked a little embarrassed. "Will you listen to me? Sorry I put you through that. I guess I confused you with Dr. Phil."

Clark shrugged. "No problem. I kind of like hearing life stories anyway."

"Well, that was only chapter one," said Lois ruefully. "So. Where are you from? You can't be from Metropolis, that's for sure."

"Why do you say that?"

"You just have that ol' deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. I bet you're a old-fashioned country boy, am I right?"

"Uh, maybe. I'm from Kansas. Smallville, Kansas."

"Smallville?" Lois looked at Clark as if he had giant centipedes crawling out of his nose. "That can't be a real town."

"It is. It's, well, you know, small."

"Interesting. Yeah. I have an uncle that lives in Kansas. Kind of the black sheep of the family."

"Really? What's his name?" Asked Clark, trying to start up a friendly conversation.

"The state of Kansas has over 2 million people in it," Lois said. "I doubt you'd know him."

Clark apologized for the hundredth time. He was starting to feel like a nerd.

"Anyway, there are only a few things you need to know about the _Planet_," Continued Lois as she chewed absentmindedly on a pencil. "We have a fitness center on the 16th floor and a cafeteria on the first. My advice, don't ever step foot into the cafeteria unless you are absolutely dying of hunger and three seconds away from going into a coma."

A phone rang on an unoccupied desk nearby and Lois snatched it off its cradle before it could go into the second ring. "Hello? No, I'm sorry. Tommy Blake has just stepped out for a cigarette break. Can I take a message? Yes. Yes." She motioned for Clark to hand her some paper and he did. "Something big happening at S.T.A.R. Labs. Got it." She scribbled something down on the paper and hung up the phone. "Something else you have to remember, Farm-boy. Never under any circumstances leave your desk unattended. You never know who might scoop you."

Clark watched in amazement as Lois grabbed an oversized purse from behind her desk. "Well, come on!" She exclaimed, irritated by the confounded expression on his face. "I have to show you around don't I? And this might be the story that gets both our careers jumpstarted."


End file.
